Tornado outbreak of May 29-31, 2022
The tornado outbreak that occurred on May 29th, 30th, and 31st, 2022 was a multi-state, multi-day severe weather event that effected much of the eastern United States. There were multiple violent tornadoes, including at least 2 EF5 tornadoes, one of which completely destroyed a town in Nebraska. Along with tornadoes, flooding, large hail, and severe thunderstorm winds were also reported across a large swath of the affected areas. The outbreak remains one of the worst in United States history. Tornadoes May 29th Event Notable Tornadoes St. Edwards-Tarnov, Nebraska At 2:25 PM on May 29th, a very strong mesocyclone produced an elephant trunk tornado near Cedar Rapids. The tornado continued moved east-northeast towards St. Edward as it was growing in size and strength rapidly. At 2:35 PM, the now 1.75 mile wide tornado struck the tiny town of St. Edward directly, with the core of the twister passing trhough the southern half of town. The entire town was enveloped within the tornado, leaving no building in the city limits undamaged. Very large silos at the Green Plains Grain Facility were picked up and tossed up to a mile. A brick auto service building was leveled, along with 2 churches, bar and grill, bank, general store, 2 banks, and an ice cream place. At the St. Edward public schools, the mobile units were obliterated, and the gymnasium collapsed. The neighboring Kurtenbach Nursery was leveled, and the playground in the nursery's yard was sheared off its metal bolts and mangled. Thankfully, the tornado hit on a Sunday, so the buildings were vacant as the tornado hit. The St. Edward city hall suffered major damage, with all but an interior room being destroyed. The Grapevine Cafe was swept completely away, and its concrete foundation was cracked in several places. The Cloverlodge Retirement Center collapsed and was partially swept away, killing 43 people. Trucks from a trucking center were mangled and thrown up to a mile away. Every house in the town received at least mid-range EF2 damage, with 52 homes suffering indisputable EF5 damage. 8 well built, well anchored houses in between 8th S Street and 9th S Street were swept away completely, with their bolts being twisted, sheared down, and broken off of the foundation. 3 of those foundations were cracked and swept away as well. The basements of the destroyed houses were filled with debris, killing a total of 8 people. One of the homes had a pool, which was sucked clean and the paving was cracked in dozens of places. Asphalt was ripped from the ground along Beaver Street and 9th S Street, and trees in that area were completely debarked before being uprooted and thrown hundreds of yards. As the tornado moved out of the town, a 300 yard wide swath of 2 foot deep ground scouring was observed for 2 miles as the tornado moved towards Tarnov. An oil rig outside of town was shredded, and the oil pump was ripped out of the ground and wrapped around a fully debarked tree. Acres of corn fields were sheared all the way to the ground, and hundreds, possibly thousands, of trees were debarked and/or uprooted. Pivot sprinklers were mangled, crumpled up, and thrown hundreds of yards, and grain bins were shredded so badly the pieces of aluminum were so thin it was hard to differentiate them from cars or household appliances. The tornado weakened as it hit multiple farm houses, ranches, and barns, inflicting high-end EF4 damage. Cars were crushed, and houses were almost completely destroyed except for a few interior walls. Barns were completely destroyed, and silos were blown apart. The tornado intensified again as it struck the Cci Feedyards. Multiple wooden and aluminum and food storage's were blown apart. The ranch homes on the site were destroyed and swept away. Barns were completely destroyed, and hale bales were found up to two miles away. Dirt in the animal pens was tossed up, leaving 1 foot deep trenches and holes. Amazingly, no one was hurt due to the 20 people there seeking shelter in the facility's concrete 20 foot underground basement. However, over 300 farm animals were killed. The tornado underwent a period of thinning as it left the site, slimming down to 220 yards. However, despite its size, the tornado was still extremely violent and had one of the fastest spinning motions ever observed. The greatly decreased size allowed for dozens of structures previously in the tornadoes path to be spared. However, between the Cci Feddyards and Tarnov, intense ground scouring, up to two feet deep, was observed. 4 houses and 3 farms were hit, all of which were completely destroyed. The tornado then hit the northern half of Tarnov. All 10 buildings associated with the St. Michael Catholic Church were destroyed, and only the 3 main buildings had debris left on their foundation. 10 nearby homes were destroyed and swept clean away. Cars were mangled, and two vehicles were wrapped around trees. The tornado also sucked up chunks of asphalt and concrete off of roads, driveways, and sidewalks along Quail Street, Robin Street, 1st Street, and 3rd Street. Trees in the area were debarked, and many were uprooted. A small industrial building on 1st Street was shredded and completely destroyed, with little debris left on the foundation. Large stainless steel grain bins were crushed and thrown up to 500 yards away. Severe dirt scouring, up to a foot deep in some places, was documented along a 3 miles path from outside of Tarnov, straight through northern Tarnov, and out the other end. A mile long irrigation pipe was ripped out of the ground, twisted, snapped, and thrown in all directions. The tornado finally began to rapidly weaken as it sped east-northeastwards. The tornado heavily damaged 20 more homes, and destroyed 16 barns as it moved south of Leigh. The tornado finally dissipated at 3:03 PM. Damage in St. Edward and adjacent areas was so severe, many people and meteorologists consider the tornado to have been an EF6 tornado. Along with some of the most extreme damage ever documented, some of the highest winds on earth were recorded within the tornado. As the tornado moved through St. Edward, a Doppler on wheels just outside the tornado recorded 294 mph winds. However, it is estimated the some of the sub-vortices within the tornado reached wind speeds of 350 miles per hour. In all, 81 people were killed, 60 people were killed in St. Edward, 12 in Tarnov, and 9 along the ranches and farmsteads along the rest of its path. Over 350 people were injured, and more than 500 farm animals were killed. Pierra, South Dakota A finger tornado touched down in the hills of Stanley County at 1:52 PM, downing trees and power lines. The tornado strengthened, traveling 15 miles before reaching the northwestern outskirts of Pierre. Large industrial buildings sustained roof and outside wall loss, and 1 story wood frame houses were almost completely destroyed, with only a couple inside walls left. Trees were partially debarked and mobile homes were obliterated. Houses on the shore of Lake Sharpe were destroyed and partially swept away, with debris being pushed into the lake. As the tornado crossed the lake, a speedboat was sucked up and thrown a quarter of a mile. Water in the lake was pulled into the vortex, creating a highly photogenic white-black swirl effect. The tornado came out the other side of the lake at peak intensity, causing mild ground scouring. The tornado weakened, and traveled two more miles before striking more houses. The homes lost their roofs and multiple outside walls, and cars were thrown several yards before being crushed. Large conifer trees in the area were snapped at the base and blown around. The tornado began to rope out, and traveled 10 miles without striking any buildings before dissipating west of Blunt. The tornado was rated high-end EF4 with 195 mph winds. However, damage to the lake front houses could support an EF5 rating, and the SuperDestructiveTwister Weather Forecast Center considers the tornado a low-end EF5 with 205 mph winds. 4 people were killed, all in the Pierre city limit. Westreville, South Dakota At 3:20 PM, a small and laughably weak landspout touched down in an open field. The tornado moved over open fields, causing no damage. As the tornado approached southeastern Westreville, it rapidly intensified, and grew to a mile wide wedge tornado. The tornado passed directly over a small farm, completely sweeping away the ranch house, barn, and all other buildings on the 3 acre property. Grain bins were mangled and tossed up to half a mile. The tractor was smashed against a debarked tree so hard, it was warped like a piece of plastic. Concrete stairs were ripped out of the ground and dragged across the barren foundation, receiving severe cracking. Severe ground scouring also occurred at the site. Corn stalks were ripped out of the ground, and pavement was cracked and blown away. Another farm down the road experienced similar damage. The outer edges of the tornado struck Westreville, causing minor to moderate damage. The Pleasant Valley Lutheran Church sustained roof loss, while multiple homes lost their roofs, and some exterior walls. Mobiles homes were destroyed and large trees were snapped. The tornado continued over mostly open fields, continuing to produce ground scouring and debarking trees. Multiple more buildings were swept away. The tornado began to weaken as it approached Hub City. The tornado roped out over Hub City, ripping shingles off of multiple buildings. Miraculously, no one was killed or even injured in the mammoth twister due to early warnings and most houses having basements. However, over 40 farm animals were killed, but the tornado helped eradicate an invasive species of dust mite in the counties the tornado trekked through.